The invention relates to a cylinder block for an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders with profiled sections in the area of a plane of a main crankshaft bearing structure.
Patent DE 43 24 609 C2 discloses a cylinder block for an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders and lateral reinforcing structures in the form of longitudinal and vertical profiled sections. These hollow profiled sections are integrated in the casting forming the cylinder block. A plurality of longitudinal profiled sections are provided laterally, and a vertical profiled section is provided at each main bearing, the longitudinal profiled sections extending in the longitudinal direction of the engine and the vertical profiled sections following the profile of the side wall of the cylinder-crankcase, i.e. from the top initially parallel to the cylinder axis and then widening outward in the region of the crank case. The cavities of the profiled sections are designed such that medium can flow through them continuously.
By contrast, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cylinder-block having a reinforcing structure of longitudinal and vertical profiled sections in which a lateral camshaft can be mounted in close proximity to the cylinder walls.